Government/Econ Leaders Tout Participation at ACR 2026 Lunch

ACR® leaders promoted the importance of member participation during a Listen and Learn lunch at ACR 2026, the College’s annual meeting. ACR Board of Chancellors Vice Chair Gregory N. Nicola, MD, FACR, immediate past Chair of the College’s Commission on Economics, and Joshua Cooper, ACR EVP for Government Relations, held an open mic session focused on #radvocacy. 

The presenters gave two key pieces of advice to ACR members seeking to engage in advocacy efforts: start locally in your state chapter to gain skills and knowledge, and begin your pathway to leadership through fellowship opportunities sponsored by chapters or ACR, such as the Rutherford-Lavanty Fellowship and the Moorefield Fellowship. 

When asked how ACR members can better advocate for the specialty on Capitol Hill, Cooper advised approaching it from a patient’s point of view. “Patients are obviously the majority of everyone’s constituents whether you’re a congressman or a senator,” he said. 

Cooper noted ACR is going beyond presenting issues to lawmakers; radiology is presenting solutions. The ROOT Act is one of those solutions. The act addresses implementation concerns raised by CMS by amending the imaging appropriate use criteria (AUC) section of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) of 2014. Introduced by Reps. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Blake Moore (R-UT), and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), the act would simplify the administration of the AUC program and lead to savings for both Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare system.

“There’s not another major specialty that’s going to Capitol Hill talking about Medicare payment reform that is actually offering a solution,” Cooper said. 

By Nicole Racadag, MSJ, Senior Managing Editor, ACR Bulletin